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Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #2 in Movie
- Released on: 2008-02-27
- Rating: R (Restricted)
- Running time: 120 minutes
Customer Reviews
Good, but so what?
Michael Clayton cleans up messy situations for his firm's clients. He is not a miracle he asserts, he just takes care of the messes. Clayton is not a hero. He is called to take care of a trial lawyer who stripped naked during a taped disposition and started chasing one of the defendants. He ranted about his love for the client. She was an angel I guess. Clayton has some experience in dealing with his bipolar co-worker. Clayton job is to get his co-worker back on his meds. However, the co-worker has other plans and is pretty much smarter than his bosses and Clayton. The primary counsel for the firm's client orders the co-worker killed because the co-worker is going to spill the beans about a class-action law suit that will cost her company billions of dollars. The coworker is killed. Clayton figures out what happens and confronts the primary counsel and gets her on tape. This pretty much the plot. Clayton investigates his friend's death for pretty much righteous reasons, but gives up because he gets $80K, which will pay his debt to some loan sharks. He only confronts the counsel because she tries to have him killed and the hired killers miss. There is no one to root for in the movie, except for the plaintiff. Clayton does nothing really noble in all this. He even breaks the law and puts his brother's career in danger to gather the evidence.
The plot was ok, but I thought the car bomb idea was ludricous. How could the police not miss the connection with the other death, especially since Clayton's brother is with the police. The hired killers were not so smart. Clooney was excellent as Clayton. Swinton did not have much of a role for her vast talent. All the actors were very good. The direction was crisp and purposeful. It was an enjoyable experience. However, the movie has absolutely no message except how corrupt the corporate world is. I enjoyed the movie while I watched it, but wondered afterwards, what was the point it was trying to make.
Needs no fixing; `Clayton' surpasses all expectations...
I can honestly say that I didn't expect to like this movie, not in the least. The only drawing factor for me was Tom Wilkinson, an actor I adore (his performance in `In the Bedroom' alone is iconic to say the least) but I had heard early word that his performance here was too loud and abrasive and screamed "give me an Oscar" and so I shrugged it off as unworthy. I've never really jumped on the Tilda Swinton bandwagon. Sure, she has some good performances under her belt but the cult status she has received is beyond me. Clooney; well all I can really say about Clooney is that a long time ago I loved him so much he could do no wrong, and then the rest of the world fell in love with him and suddenly he lost my interest. That said, the points for `Michael Clayton' weren't nearly as strong as the points against it and so I passed it over.
Then Oscar nominated it for like everything and I thought; "maybe I need to give this a try."
So give it a try I did and I can now honestly say that it was well worth the time. `Michael Clayton' is one very well constructed legal thriller that nails the intensity and the chaos that circles events like these. It reminds me of `A Civil Action' to a degree, yet `Michael Clayton' actually works. I felt like `A Civil Action' was trying to accomplish something that was out of its league. `Michael Clayton' does exactly what it sets out to do.
Tony Gilroy makes his directorial debut here, working with his own original screenplay. He's already proven himself a great writer (thanks to the impeccable `Bourne' series) and with `Michael Clayton' he proves he's soon to be a very accomplished director. He portrays a sense of vulnerability here that suits the film very well, almost contrasting beautifully the states of the main characters. There are single sequences so startling here you can't help but be drawn deeper and deeper into these people. Shots of Swinton wrestling her emotions in a bathroom stall or Clooney staring mystified at a group of horses or Wilkinson lying in the fetal position chatting up a little boy; they all add layers of emotional depth to these complex and commanding characters.
The film revolves around a `fixer' by the name of Michael Clayton. Michael is the go-to-guy for messes his law firm wants cleaned up quickly and efficiently. Michael ends up biting off more than he can chew when he is sent to clean up a certain mess left by his colleague and friend Arthur Edens. Arthur has recently suffered from a mental breakdown and embarrassed the company by stripping nude during a legal proceeding. Turns out that Edens has been reviewing a certain case in his head for some time and has come to the realization that his company has single handedly murdered many innocent people. He just couldn't play party to the crimes anymore and is now determined to set things right. The problem is though that there are many who want to keep him quiet.
`Michael Clayton' manages to keep the viewer glued to the edge of their seats in anticipation for the next scene. This has a lot to do with the amazing performances given by the cast. We'll start with Clooney; an actor who I feel is a little over praised as of late. His performance here is his finest performance since his turn in the Coen's `O Brother Where Art Thou?'. He shows strength masked over by his vulnerability. We can see all of Michael's personal demons yet we see his courage and determination that make him the man he is. Swinton, or should I say `Oscar Winner' Tilda Swinton, is a force here. She has limited screen time but she manages to work beautiful wonders with the character of Karen Crowder. I was astounded by her range here, her ability to completely control a scene, and her final breakdown is pure magic; watching her character crumble under the knowledge of her inevitable exposure is so natural, so strong. When she hits her knees, while only a background and blurred image, she is the only thing you can focus on.
Tom Wilkinson doesn't show up for nearly thirty minutes yet his presence haunts the screen long before his figure does. His voice over work which permeates the first twenty or so minutes of the film is pure brilliance. I have heard his performance noted as hammed up or eccentric but I for I feel that he gave this film exactly what it needed. He was convincing and mesmerizing to watch. Watching his character explode with over confidence and determination and then shrink back in depressive fear and self pity was an astonishing feat.
In the end `Michael Clayton' is one of the best films of the year. I'm astounded at the impeccable lineup presented by the Academy this year; it's a rare treat when they actually nominate worthy films. If you have been wary about watching this film, fearing that it'll wind up being `Law & Order' light and thus be unsatisfactory, please wipe those fears away and dive in, for `Michael Clayton' is one of those rare treats that delivers on just about every level.
First Class Entertainment
I enjoyed this movie so much that I watched it twice in one sitting. It's riveting, desolate and gritty yet lush in a wintry, grey flannel kind of way. The pacing is spot on considering the film's plot twists, and the "redemptive" ending so often referenced as the movie's major flaw seems perfectly natural - not so much redemption as logical conclusion. George Clooney and Sydney Pollack are more than compelling, but Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, playing both hyper-capable and utterly incapable at the same time, is mesmerizing. You can't take your eyes off of her conflicted, high cheek-boned face and haunted eyes - pure poetry.
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